Breaking the Camel's Back
by Ice Bear
Summary: Has the Controller finally pushed his top team too far?


Ray Doyle sighed wearily at the top of the stairs that would lead him to the operatives' rest room. He desperately needed some tea before he tackled his report. As he exited the room, cup in hand, he heard his boss bellow: "4-5, my office, now!" Stopping for a moment to slump against the door jamb he slurped downed half the contents of the cup before heading into the lion's den.

He flashed a small smile Betty's way as he opened the door. He was almost to the desk before he realized someone else was in the room besides the Controller. He pivoted back to his left. "Bloody hell!" He spat out as he moved to the couch. Kneeling beside it, he lifted a shaking hand to hover over a heavily muscled thigh. "What the hell happened?" He asked in a normal tone, after his eyes had scanned the haggard face as he listened to the belabored breathing.

"The Reynolds case exploded. I needed more men." George Cowley responded, not bothering to look up from the paperwork on his desk.

"You…you," Ray Doyle stopped and took a deep breath. His right hand settled on the chest for a moment before moving up to cradle a bruised cheek. "He was on sick leave…doctor said he wasn't fit for duty…wouldn't be for anything other than records and not even that for at least another week." While his outraged speech was aimed at the man at the desk, his eyes never strayed from the man in front of him.

"I didn't have enough men." The Controller repeated calmly.

"So you took him! You knew he wouldn't say no to you. He respects you…too bad you never bothered to return the favor. He wasn't with me because the doctor said no, but that didn't stop you. Oh no, not the great bloody George Cowley, you bastard. Christ probably rose from the dead because you were a man or two short." Green eyes spat fire but the hand that stroked the cheek was gentle.

"Sunshine?" Exhausted blue eyes opened to find worried green ones at close range.

"Bodie mate, what the hell have you done now? You are supposed to be at the flat recovering." His voice was soft.

"Sorry, pet. Father needed a few extra hands." He straightened up slowly and Ray moved to sit beside him.

"Are you alright?"

"Just a little stiff. I am a bit out of shape, you know." A slight smile graced the weary face.

"Let's go home. Get you a hot bath and a massage before bed. Sound good?"

Bodie stood with his partner's assistance, blue eyes darkening as he turned to face his boss. "Good night, sir."

"3-7…4-5, I need..." Doyle interrupted him before he could complete the sentence.

"I'll talk to you later, sir." The last word was almost spit.

By the time they reached the car park, Doyle was supporting most of the younger man's weight. He got him situated in the passenger seat, pausing to run a finger over a pale cheek. "Do we need to go to Casualty?" He waited patiently, green eyes softening as blue eyes appeared beneath long lashes.

"No. Saw the doc when we got back. Just need a soak and a kip, and I'll be good as new, Sunshine. Promise."

At their flat, Ray let out a small sigh of relief when the lift door opened. Urging the man in, he waited until the doors slid closed before taking his partner in his arms. "Bloody hell, Bodie," he whispered into the soft black hair, "you trying to turn me grey before me time?"

"Our Susan showed up, said the Cow wanted to speak with me. Didn't figure out anything was up until she headed away from headquarters. Got to that warehouse on the Thames we've staked out half a hundred times. Cowley said he had so many people on your op that he needed help to take Reynolds. Handed me a gun." The lift stopped and they pulled apart.

Once safely inside their flat with the security locks in place, they resumed the embrace before Ray carefully maneuvered his lover to the couch. "What happened next," he asked, settling his mate against his chest.

"Evans – the new agent seconded from the Paras was about to get his bloody head shot off."

"And?" Ray encouraged after a long pause.

"Couldn't very well let him do that, could I? I managed to distract the stupid sod with the gun and took him down. After that we got the upper hand, and Williams found Reynolds trying to lock himself in a walk in safe on the third floor."

"Nice fairy tale, love. Now, tell me what really happened."

The blue eyes closed; black lashes stark against overly pale skin. "The Cow sent me in with Evans and one of the other newbies. I think Macklin needs to reconsider his training – they couldn't have found Reynolds if he'd opened the bloody door for them. Took more than an hour and a lot of ammo to get to him." Feeling the tenseness in the body behind him, Bodie pulled forward and carefully forced himself to his feet. "Need a kip, Angelfish," he said as he limped into the bedroom, tossing his polo neck into a chair as he went.

"Shower first, love, and make sure you take your pills," Ray added as he moved to follow. He sat heavily on the bed, head in his hands as he heard the water come on. His partner hadn't even been out of the hospital for a fortnight. How could Cowley…no good going down that road, the Cow would do whatever it took to get the job done, regardless of who got hurt.

In fact it was the Cow's fault Bodie ended up in the hospital in the first place. He'd sent him on an undercover op solo, and the dumb half Irish bastard had been exposed to a hefty dose of sulfur dioxide when his cover had been broken. That had resulted in a serious case of chemical pneumonia, and his partner had spent nearly a week on a ventilator and three and a half weeks in the hospital before the doctor was willing to send him home. How dare the Cow….

"Goldilocks, your offer of a massage still good?" He looked up and had to smile. While his partner had lost more than two stone in hospital he still had a beautiful body, especially when he was wearing that warm, soft smile reserved for solely for him.

"Course, you prat! Now, settle down so I can get to work." For twenty minutes he worked his fingers over the silky skin he loved so much. "Had me worried," he whispered, as he felt the muscles in the big body finally start to relax. "What the hell's the Cow thinking, calling you in?"

"Didn't know he was calling me in," Bodie responded, turning onto his back so he was facing his partner. He grabbed a hand and placed a kiss on the wrist before pushing up to rest against the pillows. He waited till his partner joined him, and they lay entwined. "Wouldn't have gone. Know what the doctor said…think maybe the Cow was just trying to save HMG me pension," he tucked his head into a bony shoulder as he spoke.

"What do you mean by that?" Ray demanded, shocked at the serious tone. He pulled away so he could look at his partner directly.

"Kill me now and he won't have to invalid me out – cuts down on the paperwork and saves a pension. Figures it will keep you with the mob as well." The tone very matter of fact.

"Is that what you really think?" Ray straddled his partner's hips and looked into the cold blue eyes. They blinked closed for a long moment before opening again.

"Not sure, Ray," he started hoarsely, as anger and resignation warred for dominance on his face. "He knows the doctor doubts I'll ever be in the field again. Hell, he knows the doctor wasn't even convinced I should be out of hospital. Why else would he send me into that warehouse?"

"Not sure, Bodie-mate, but I do know that he doesn't get another shot at you. Tomorrow we'll resign." Hard green eyes made it clear that was the end of the discussion.

"But you're not ready to leave!" Bodie's effort to sit up was easily stifled with a hand on his chest.

"Get this through that thick skull of yours once and for all. Nothing is more important to me then you – nothing and no one. Tis hard. Hate to think after all we've done for Queen, country and Cowley that this is what it comes to, but you have to admit it would be vintage Cowley triple think – especially if he thought it was a way to minimize his losses.

He doesn't get another shot at you, love. And I think it's time we made it clear to him that anything untold happens to either of us, we have contingencies in place that he won't like."

"You sure this is what you want, Ray?"

"I'm sure I want you, love. I wasn't about to let him shot you that time with King Billy, and I sure as hell won't stand by and let him hurt you again." He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on the pouty lips of his partner. "So what would you like to be when you grow up, William," he asked with a hint of a challenge in the tone.


End file.
